For Immediate Release
October 27, 2009
Wellesley Sports Information
Wellesley Field Hockey Earns Regular-Season Title; Blue Defeat Wheaton
Box Score
WELLESLEY, Mass. – The Wellesley College field hockey team wrapped the NEWMAC regular season Championship with a 3-1 win over Wheaton College on a cold Tuesday afternoon in Wellesley.
The Blue improve to 11-7 overall with a 6-2 mark in the NEWMAC, while Wheaton falls to 6-11, 2-6 in the conference.
Although Wellesley held a 14-3 advantage in first half shots, the first 35 minutes were much closer than the scoresheet indicated. Wheaton appeared to take a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute when a rocket off of the stick of Alex Block (Saratoga, CA) hit the inside of the post, but the goal was called off for not crossing the line. Wellesley responded by taking 10 of the half's final 11 shots, the last of which gave the Blue a 1-0 lead, on Allison Robbin's (North Bennington, VT) third goal of the season.
Wellesley controlled the second period from the outset, not allowing a Wheaton shot for the first 28 minutes. The Blue had an early chance to go ahead 2-0, but Molly Morrow's (Bow, NH) shot was knocked away on a defensive save by Wheaton's Bonnie Davies (Roxbury, CT). However, Morrow later converted on a penalty corner to put Wellesley ahead by two with 16 minutes remaining.
Wheaton broke through in the 66th minute, when Emily Asack (Stoughton, MA) put a rebounded shot into the back of the net to cut the Blue lead to 2-1 with just over 13 minutes remaining. Asack's shot came after a string of two Wheaton shots were saved by the Blue, including a defensive save from Wellesley's Sarah Mohtes-Chan (Davis, CA).
After the Lyon goal,
Wellesley took the ensuing posession and needed just 17 seconds to push the score to 3-1. The goal, which turned out to be the game's final, came off of a slick pass from Sally Scudder (Delafield, WI) to Natalie Gitz (Oxford, OH) sealing the victory for the Blue.
Wheaton's Andrea Bagley (Foxboro, MA) was solid in goal facing making 13 saves after facing a relentless Wellesley offense that racked up 25 shots.
Wellesley's Sarina Sawyer (Wilmette, IL) went largely untested between the pipes, recording one save.
Both Wellesley and Wheaton have clinched playoff berths. Wellesley holds the number one seed, while Wheaton is the eighth seed. The teams will meet again in the first round of the playoffs on Saturday, at a time to be determined later.